Coll 54/2 'Middle East (Official) Committee: Working Party' [‎25r] (49/642)

(2) Crops*
(a) Cereals, comprising wheat, maize, millet, barlet and
ueff are the main crops and are grown primarily for internal con*-
sumption, their cultivation being limited io the immediate require
ments of the peasants* During the lost three years, however, when
world prices of grain were high and almost any type of cereal was in
demand, farmers increased the cultivation of cereals to take advantage
of this valuable export market. For example, from 11th September,
1947» to 9th March, 1948* the value of the export of cereals was
Eth $16,032,500.^ This was the most profitable six-month period,
and only half this sum was obtained a year later. Now, with the
fall in world grain prices, these exports have dropped considerably,
and only a small market is found in the neighbouring territories*
The inability of Ethiopian cereals to compete in the world market
is due to their high price and low quality. The cost of transport-
ing^the grain by rail to Jibuti, combined with the refusal of the
Ethiopian farmer to accept the lower world prices, accounts for the
high price; the low quality is due to the inefficient methods used
in cleaning and grading of the grain, which fail to remove many
impurities. (A consignment of wheat received in Aden was so dirty
as to be unfit for human consumption).
(b) Oil seeds. There are twelve varieties of oil seeds, of
which the main one is Neuk, containing about 25^0 to 30$ of oil.
The other varieties are sunflower, ground nuts, cotton seed, linseed,
castor beans, sesame, pumpkin seed, mustard seed, rape seed, saffron
and garden cress (an indigenous grass, whose seed contains about
25 % of oil). Although cultivation of these oil seeds is still on
a small scale, a steady increase seems to have been made since the
war. Using export values again as an index, the sale of oil seeds
abroad has risen from Eth. $ 103,560 (September 1945 - March 1946)
to Eth. $7,752,540 (September 1948 - March 1949)
(c) Coffee. There are two varieties; Harari, which is
cultivated, and Abyssinian, which grows wild in the forests round Jimma
and Lekemti, Harari coffee, exported under the trade name
of ,f longberry mocha”, is used exclusively for blending and fetches a
high price in the European market* In March this year it sold at
210 /- per cwt* which was about 20 /- more than the price of the best
Kenya coffees* The annual export has risen during the last four
years from 12,000 tons to 17,800 tons, about 500 tons being imported
each year by the United Kingdom. The Abyssinian variety sells at
about 1^/- to 15/- less per cwt, than Harari and is exported mainly
to Aden, the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Egypt. About 4000 tons a year of
coffee from the west of Ethiopia finds its way into the Sudan either
by river steamer from Gambeilla or as contraband through Kurmuk and
Roseires.
Much could be done to improve the quality of the coffee for
export by the introduction of some system of cleaning and grading*
Only occasionally are consignments hand cleaned at Dire Dawa or
Jibuti, with the result that Ethiopian coffee, despite its intrinsic
high quality, does not fetch the highest possible prices.
/(d)...